ranking | Are you looking for the best places to live in the world? There is no better resource than Expats, who have a unique perspective on what it’s like to live in a foreign country.
For the tenth year in a row, InterNations has surveyed nearly 12,000 expats around the world to compile a ranking of the best places to live. I’Expat Insider 2023 It collects the opinions of expats who represent 177 nationalities and live in 181 countries or territories. The report ranks 53 countries by analyzing factors such as quality of life, ease of settlement, personal finances, and more.
The best place to live
The best destination to live as an expat in 2023 is Mexico which won the award for the second year in a row, with 91% of expats declaring that they are satisfied with their lives.
This country has always been a favorite for expats. ” the Mexico Great results since our first survey entrant from the inside, there are ten years. He was always among the top five.” Malta like you, founder of InterNations. According to him, Mexico’s continued popularity with expats is largely due to its strong personal financial records and ease of settling in. “For example, this is where expats around the world find it easier to get accustomed to the local culture, as they feel very welcome. Moreover, they describe the locals as the friendliest people in the world. If we add to this the low cost of living With a relatively pleasant climate, Mexico becomes a magnet for expatriates.
However, there are also disadvantages. “Personal security remains one of the biggest issues in Mexico, both for locals and expats,” says Malty Zek. In 2022, Mexico is ranked 49thH On 52 destinations in terms of safety. This year, it is ranked 49thH out of 53 countries. Of expats surveyed in 2023, 18% said they feel unsafe in Mexico (compared to 8% globally).
rest of the arrangement
He is in second place in the ranking this year Spain, which has moved up a few places from fifth place in 2022. What makes Spain a favored country for expats? According to Malt Zec, Spain has always ranked in the top ten for quality of life since the first survey entrant from the inside. Expats are also satisfied with the entertainment options: Spain is the global winner in this category in 2023. Culture and nightlife are also highly appreciated (88% of expats are satisfied with the offer), as is sports entertainment (91% of expats are satisfied). Finally, Spain ranks third in the world in terms of climate and nightlife, as well as climate and weather.
The third place in the ranking goes to Panama. “The third place in Panama surprised us a bit,” explained Malte Zec. “The country did not appear in the survey at all in 2022, due to the lack of local respondents that year, and is now making a very sensational debut with the best result ever.” entrant from the inside. »
Some of its strengths Panama Similar to those in Mexico. The country ranks fourth for ease of settling in and eighth for personal finance. It also scores highly in housing, ranking fifth in the world.
The United States as seen by expats
Expats are not very satisfied with United State. The country fell significantly behind in the survey entrant from the insideThis year, it is ranked 30H rank. Last year, he finished 14thH place. What contributed to this decline?
“In areas where the US didn’t do well before, it’s even worse,” says Malti-Zek. For example, they went from 47H at 51H A place in relation to the accessibility of public transportation. When it comes to subjects where they usually get average or good, they still do pretty well, just a little worse. For example, last year the country ranked 18thHFor overall ease of use, while today it ranks just 26 mediocreH place. All of these elements add up to affect the overall ranking. »
There are few regions United State Where changes in outcomes are particularly noticeable, most are related to finance or business. Malte Zeeck notes that “expats report significantly lower satisfaction with the overall cost of living and affordability of housing, as well as factors such as the local labor market, the state of the economy and their own job security.”
North paradox
It is interesting to note that the Norway It is regularly called the happiest place on earth, but in this ranking it is near the bottom of the scale, at 52H Place in 53 countries. Where does this contradiction come from?
This is the “Nordic Paradox”. Norway and other Nordic countries included in the survey entrant from the inside“It performs very well in other rankings such as the Global Happiness Index, but that’s not usually reflected in our results,” says Malti-Zek.
How is that possible ? “First and foremost, the Global Happiness Index is based on a series of hard facts, that is, statistical data from official sources,” explains Malti Zec, noting that the happiness index data covers such dimensions as peace, democracy, human rights, and access to the Internet.
“It is based on the implicit assumption that doing well in these areas will automatically make the local population in the country happier,” says Malti-Zek.
investigation entrant from the insideOn the other hand, it does not measure data from external sources. “We simply ask people about their personal satisfaction with certain aspects of daily life abroad,” says Malte Zec. Some of these factors are quite similar to those covered in the World Happiness Report, such as air quality, easy access to high-speed internet, and personal safety. “Often the subjective opinions of entrants align with the objective statistics of third parties,” adds Malti-Zek.
However, according to him, one of the reasons for the “unhappiness” of expatriates in Norway And in the other Nordic countries it can be an unmeasured item in the global happiness index: ease of settling in. “Trying to make friends as an adult and build a personal support network as an outsider in a community that is often described as introverted, isolated, or closed, can be very challenging,” says Malte Zeeck. And if you feel socially isolated and lonely, you likely don’t appreciate a country’s air quality or its high per capita GDP. »
Make friends abroad
I’Expat Insider 2023 It also takes a look at where it’s easiest and hardest to make friends abroad, which is an important topic given the number of digital nomads and retirees moving to other countries.
Malte Zeek believes that the ease of making friends abroad is linked to the residents’ general friendliness and openness to foreign residents. The five countries where it is easiest to make friends are Panama, Mexico, Kenya, Brazil, and the Philippines. According to Malt Zik, these countries are also among the top ten in terms of the general friendliness of their residents and their openness to foreign residents.
The five worst performing nations in terms of friendship are DenmarkAnd AustriaAnd Kuwait, Norway and Germany. “In terms of general friendliness, all of these countries rank in the bottom 10, which could explain why it’s so hard for expats to make friends there,” Malti-Zek says.
Is it a coincidence that the most hospitable countries are those in the south with warm climates and most of the least welcoming countries are countries in the north with cooler climates? Do people tend to be friendlier when it’s warm? “We can’t really say. We can only speculate that maybe the mild climate allows people to go outside more, and therefore socialize more,” says Malte Zek.
“Societies that are less individualistic, such as those shown in our ranking of the top five ways to make friends, tend to have more cohesive communities as people spend more time with each other and help each other more,” adds Malta-Zeek. So it is possible that they are naturally more open to newcomers, such as foreign residents, and are welcoming to them. But again, this is just a guess and not based on actual data from our survey. »
lowest ranking country
the Kuwait It reaches the bottom of the rankings, at 53H venue, for the second year in a row. “Kuwait is the opposite of Mexico,” explains Malte Zec. This means that not only was it ranked last in 2022 and 2023, but it has consistently ranked among the lowest-ranked countries over the past decade. »
According to Malt Zec, the Kuwait Poor performance in most areas. Overall rating of the survey entrant from the inside It is based on 56 different assessment factors and in 2023 Kuwait finds itself in the bottom five positions of more than 30 of them. It is therefore not surprising that only 43% of expats are satisfied with their lives in Kuwait, compared to the global average of 72%, with a low level of overall satisfaction also affecting Kuwait’s final ranking. »
Ranking of the 53 best places to live in 2023
- Mexico
- Spain
- Panama
- Malaysia
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Costa Rica
- Filipino
- the two seas
- Portugal
- The United Arab Emirates
- Sultanate of Oman
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- Brazil
- Finland
- Colombia
- Kenya
- Luxembourg
- Australia
- Czech Republic
- Holland
- Swiss
- Sweden
- Greece
- China
- Canada
- Saudi Arab
- Estonia
- United State
- The State of Qatar
- Cyprus
- France
- Hungary
- Poland
- India
- Singapore
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Hong Kong
- Denmark
- Austria
- United kingdom
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Malta
- Italy
- South Africa
- Germany
- South Korea
- Türkiye
- Norway
- Kuwait
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – Author: Laura Begley Bloom
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